Knowshon is 26 years old and has struggled with injuries during a significant portion of him time with the NFL. Having struggled a good bit with health problems during my late teens and early twenties, I can easily relate to Knowshon's story. It's a very difficult time to struggle with illness or injury--one is eager to rush out and contribute to the world--or at least to be seen as a competent adult. Like Knowshon, I felt I had talents I could share--and I was very frustrated to have to put so much energy and time into managing my health issues. I often felt that if I could just achieve and maintain health, everything else would fall into place. Knowshon and I both persevered and overcame--but I wish I could have had a role model like him when I was 19. I'm pleased and proud to have survived--but it would have been comforting to have a story like Knowshon's to use as a guide. I'm pleased to see it in the national media.
I read a cool article about Knowshon Moreno (of the Denver Broncos) in today's "USA Today." I don't normally read the sports section, but Knowshon and I are from the same hometown, and it's thrilling to see him receiving respect on the national level--respect that citizens of his hometown have always known he deserved. I'm writing about Knowshon, however, for reasons that go beyond hometown pride. Two of the quotes by Knowshon in the article really resonated with me. At one point Knowshon is quoted as saying, "My thing is more just staying healthy and everything will come to you." Later in the article, Knowshon says, "I've always had that in the back of my mind--if I could stay healthy that I could definitely help this team out."
Knowshon is 26 years old and has struggled with injuries during a significant portion of him time with the NFL. Having struggled a good bit with health problems during my late teens and early twenties, I can easily relate to Knowshon's story. It's a very difficult time to struggle with illness or injury--one is eager to rush out and contribute to the world--or at least to be seen as a competent adult. Like Knowshon, I felt I had talents I could share--and I was very frustrated to have to put so much energy and time into managing my health issues. I often felt that if I could just achieve and maintain health, everything else would fall into place. Knowshon and I both persevered and overcame--but I wish I could have had a role model like him when I was 19. I'm pleased and proud to have survived--but it would have been comforting to have a story like Knowshon's to use as a guide. I'm pleased to see it in the national media.
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I have started the process of incorporating the "new" 2013 NJ Preschool Teaching & Learning Standards into my library programming. I'm still in the process of studying the latest standards, but I want to share one aspect of the language that has caught my age. When addressing specifics of adapting curriculum and activities for children with disabilities, the standards mention "as is the case with some children with disabilities." The inclusion of the word "some" is significant as often "children with disabilities" are lumped into one group, ignoring the fact that different disabilities require different (and sometimes contradictory) accommodations, in addition to ignoring the very real differences that occur among individuals with the same disability. I am pleased to see such an important document addressing these differences in such a matter of fact way.
Like many librarians and teachers, I'm striving to create recommended reading list that are in line with the new common core emphasis on non-fiction. This means I get to read lots of interesting books--and, occasionally, am able to stumble across a good book or article involving individuals with disabilities. I've just added a review of my most recent find, from the National Geographic Kids Chapters series. The title (Dog Finds Lost Dolphins!) and cover art (a dog, standing at the edge of a pool, gazing at a dolphin--whose head is sticking out of the water and who appears to be looking back at the dog. I love books that include disabilities in a matter of fact way, reinforcing the idea that those of us who are disabled are as much a part of society as any one else.
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AuthorThe content on this website mostly comes from my perspective as a youth services librarian with disabilities. The further I travel along life's road, the more entwined these two parts of my identity become. Librarian: I have an MLS from Rutgers University and have working in public libraries for nearly 20 years. The focus on my career has always been youth services. Disabled: I've been disabled more than twice as long as I've been a librarian. My experience started at birth when I was immediately diagnosed with cleft palate. Also present was a non-verbal learning disability (NLD) for short. This was not formally diagnosed until I was 19, leading to years of frustration. My Tourette Syndrome was not present at birth, but surely started young as I don't ever remember living without it. The Tourette was also not diagnosed until adulthood, further compounding my frustration. Coincidentally, I was also diagnosed with IBD (more commonly known as Chron's\Ulcerative Colitis) at the age of 19. That was another easy diagnosis--as with cleft palate, they look and they see it. Archives
September 2015
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